Religion: Black Bishops

French politicos and journalists are hot under the collar because of a
new book with the provocative title The Vatican Against France. Its
author: Protestant François Mejan, onetime (1946-50) head of the French
Interior Ministry's Direction des Cultes (which keeps a discreet watch
on the activities of all religious groups in France). The book's
thesis: the Roman Catholic Church is undermining France's prestige and
power in her colonies, especially Africa, by setting up a native clergy
instead of depending on French missionaries.

The cross and the flag were once good partners, Mejan maintains, but the
Vatican dramatically switched its policy in 1951...